Newport Beach is teaming up with an Orange County-based consulting firm to give local business owners free expert advice on how they can re-launch their businesses for success in the new year.

The city and OPIS Network will host Helping 100 Businesses for 100 Days. The workshop will be held Saturday, Jan. 22, from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the OASIS Senior Center.

"Times are tough, especially for small businesses," said Newport Mayor Michael Henn. "That's why we're doing this. It's a great opportunity for them to get some objective, third-party input on how to improve business."

The workshop will promote a 10-point strategy designed to help business owners gain a competitive edge.

From the workshop, 100 businesses will be selected to receive free additional training—three live classes and six online seminars—over the following hundred days.

"The whole idea is to reacquaint them with their own business," said Norm Bour, community development manager of OPIS Network. "A lot of people are so mired down in the day-to-day operation that they really don't understand how the outside public perceives their business."

The series also will emphasize the importance of maximizing social commerce and other popular trends in order to perform competitively in today's market.

"If you know how to anticipate the future trends, you can utilize them instead of being fearful," Bour said.

Newport Beach will be the third city to participate in this program. OPIS Network previously hosted Helping 100 Businesses in 100 Days in Santa Ana and Buena Park. Based on the success in these Orange County cities, the firm plans to eventually expand the workshops to Los Angeles County and statewide.

"I found the workshop very helpful because I learned how to present myself in a way customers want and how to let them know we care about them," said Marla Silva, an online business owner who attended the Santa Ana workshop last year. "I also met a lot of potential customers at the seminar."

When the city staffers heard about the popularity of the program in Santa Ana, they thought it might be good for Newport, too.

"When you look around Newport Beach, you can see evidence of the difficult economy," Henn said. "There are vacancies throughout. So the city is trying to be business-friendly and as supportive as possible."

Register for the workshop here, or call 949-371-5811.